Transcript post classical western europe from 476 to 1453 ce

Foundations of Christian
Society in Western Europe
Part 2
RISE OF REGIONAL STATES
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The Holy Roman Empire
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Otto of Saxony rose in northern Germany by the mid-10th century; Pope John XII proclaimed him emperor in 962
Later emperors warred alternately with powerful dukes, popes for influence in empire
Eventually emperorship becomes elected by seven most powerful imperial dukes, bishops
Smaller territorial states emerged, weakened centralizing efforts of the emperors
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Formerly, important church officials were appointed by imperial authorities
Pope Gregory VII ordered an end to the practice
Emperor Henry IV was excommunicated because of his disobedience
Investiture Contest
The Capetians
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Hugh Capet, a minor and weak noble, was elected king in 987
In the next three centuries, Capetian kings gained power and wealth gradually
Spend most of energy asserting their power over regional powerful nobles
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Descendants of Vikings who carved out a state in Normandy of France
Nominally subject to Carolingian and Capetian rulers, but acted independently
The Normans
The British Isles
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England: Normans to Plantagenets
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Duke William of Normandy invaded England
Introduced Norman style of feudalism to England
Warred constantly with France for control of territory
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Ireland and Scotland too disunited due to clan warfare – at mercy of England
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Northern Italy nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire
Church influence in Italy
Italy
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France
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New Emperors
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The popes ruled a good-sized territory in central Italy
The church also influenced politics of northern Italy
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A series of prosperous city-states emerged by the 12th century
Normans conquered southern Italy, brought it to Roman Catholic Christianity
Italian states
Christian and Muslim states in Iberia
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Muslim conquerors ruled most of the peninsula, 8th-11th centuries
Christian kingdoms took the peninsula except Granada by late 13th cent
EUROPE, C. EARLY 13TH CENTURY
GROWTH OF THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY
• Expansion of arable land
– Population rises
– Cleared forests, swamps
– Lords encouraged such efforts
• Improved farming techniques
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Crop rotation methods
Use of fertilizer
Cultivation of beans increased
More domestic animals
Books on economy, agriculture
• New tools and technology
– Extensive use of watermills and heavy plows
– Use of horseshoe and horse collar, increased land under cultivation
– 3-plot rotation of planted land
• New food supplies
– Before 1000, European diet - grains
– After 1000, more meat, dairy products, fish, vegetables, legumes
• Population growth
– From 29 to 79 million between 800 C.E. and 1300 C.E.
REVIVAL OF TOWNS AND TRADE
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Urbanization
– Peasants, serfs, tradesmen flocked to cities and towns
• Towns allowed serfs to acquire freedom if they stayed 1 year, 1 day
• Local nobles allowed towns charters, rights for direct taxes
• Towns ruled by urban elite usually from guilds, wealthy
– Textile production
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• Northern Italian cities and Flanders became centers of wool textiles
• Trade in wool products fueled economic development of Europe
Mediterranean trade
– Trading City-States
• Venice, Genoa were the most prominent but others such as Pisa, Amalfi
• Wealth based on sea-power, luxury trade
– Italians established colonies in Mediterranean, Black Sea
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• Conquered, settled cities, built factories and trade centers
• Established trading alliances, signed treaties with many including Muslims
The Hanseatic League
– Hansa - association of trading cities, controlled trade of N. Europe
• German trading city-states made alliance; established factories in North, Baltic
Seas
• Concluded treaties with many states; admitted key foreign cities to alliance
• So powerful could resist kingdoms, made war on opponents
• Trade is fish, grains, iron, cloth
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– Major European rivers, entrepots linked Hansa to the Mediterranean
Improved business techniques
– Bankers issued letters of credit to merchants
– Commercial partnerships for limiting risks of commercial investment
EUROPEAN CITIES
MEDIEVAL TRADE ROUTES
TRADING CITIES
SOCIAL CHANGES
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The three estates
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"Those who pray" – clergy, spiritual estate
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"Those who fight" - feudal nobles, military estate
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"Those who work" - mostly peasants and serfs
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Ruling hierarchy: Popes, bishops, abbots
Common clergy: Monks, priests
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Royalty who ran a state
Land owning lords such as dukes, counts, princes
Lowest nobility with no land were knights
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Peasants and Serfs
Those who lived in Towns (Burg = Burghers)
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Not an estate in most countries
Grew to become middle class
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Guilds
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Independent cities
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Chivalry
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Rise of Estates General, Parliaments, and Assemblies
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Established standards of quality for manufactured goods
Determined prices and regulated entry of new workers
Ran free cities as urban aristocracy
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Expansion of cities did not fit into feudal framework
Urban populations were increasingly able to resist feudal nobles
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Code of ethics and behavior for feudal nobles
Church directed chivalry toward Christian faith, piety
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Kings had to govern with the consent of the nobles, clergy
Could not tax without their approval for which demanded rights
Eventually most rulers granted nobles, clergy rights to assemble, to debate
Also granted right to free peasants, citizens of towns who formed the “commons”
Many assemblies limited rights of rulers, became permanent bodies
GENDER ROLES IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE
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Feminine Roles of the Day
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The Virgin Mary was the ideal
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Mother to children
Supports husband quietly, diligently
A patriarchal society but strong feminine roles
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Very limited as it was a “male’s world”
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Female rulers were not unknown
Public Role
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Women could own property in own right
Feudalism did not prohibit women from fighting but often they named a champion
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Generally seen as regents for son, grandson
If widowed, lost rights if remarried or when male came of age
Frequently seen in Spain, Scandinavia, England, Italy
Laws would not permit women to rule in France, Germany, Eastern Europe
Private Role
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ALWAYS differentiate between aristocracy, poor
Aristocratic Women
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Poor women
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Women were the womb to breed the heir; marriage politics taken very seriously
Roles public and private limited by convention and wealth to social roles and little else
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Equally a man’s world but women had to work next to males for family to survive
Most women married due to pregnancy, married early in life, died young
Middle Class (Urban) women
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Towns and cities offered fresh opportunities for women
Women worked in a wide range of occupations
Most guilds admitted women, and women also had their own guilds
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As nuns women acquired social equality with men by renouncing sexuality
Abbesses, nuns could run monasteries, were educated, had great influence
The Church Women
Women of the Day
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Eleanor, Countess Aquitaine, Duchess of Normandy, Queen of England
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Most celebrated woman of her day
Inherited richest lands in Europe; married King of England
Supported troubadours, promoted good manners, refinement, arts, and romantic love
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Leading mystic, intellectual, advisors to bishops, popes
Revolutionized techniques in music
Blessed Hildegard von Bingen
THE CHURCH AND LEARNING
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Cathedral schools
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Universities
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The influence of Aristotle
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Scholasticism: St. Thomas Aquinas
– Bishops, archbishops in France, Italy organized schools
– Cathedral schools concentrated on liberal arts
– Some offered instruction in law, medicine, and theology
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Large cathedral schools developed into universities
Most students trained for church, bureaucratic jobs
Most students were from middle classes and not nobility
Student guilds and faculty guilds
Chief degree was theology
– Increased contacts led to rediscovery of Aristotle
– Obtained works from Byzantines, Muslims
– Scholasticism
• System learning applied to Christianity
• Intellectual and rational
– St. Thomas Aquinas
• Dominican scholar
• Famous scholastic theologian
• Wrote Summa Theologica
– Sought to harmonize
• Greek rationality
• Aristotelian learning
• Christianity
THE RELIGION OF THE MASSES
• Popular Religion
– Sacraments and Devotions
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The most popular was the Eucharist
Devotion to saints for help
The Virgin Mary: the most popular saint
Saints' relics were esteemed
Pilgrimage: to Rome, Compostela, Jerusalem
– People were superstitious
• Devoted to many pagan rituals
• Believed in witches
• Reform Movements and Popular Heresies
– Dominicans and Franciscans
• Organized movements of non-cloistered religious
– Dominicans worked primarily as teachers
– Franciscans were primarily social workers
• Worked directly with populace, needy, sick
• Championed spiritual over materialistic values
• Zealously combated heterodox movements
– Popular heresy
• Dominicans became the Church’s police or Inquisition
• Movements of Waldensians and Cathars (Albigensians)
COLONIZATION AND CRUSADES
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Atlantic and Baltic Colonization
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The Vikings
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Christianity in Scandinavia
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Scandinavians turned to Atlantic, 9th/10th centuries
Colonized Iceland and Greenland
Leif Ericsson settled in Canada (Vinland)
Established Dynasty of the Rus in Russia (Kiev)
Established states in Normandy, S. Italy, Holy Land
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Kings of Denmark, Norway converted, 10th c.
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St. Olaf convinced the king, nobles to convert
Colonies in Iceland, Sweden, Finland also converted
Crusading Orders and Baltic Expansion
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Germans launched mass settlement of Eastern lands
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The Teutonic Knights were most active in the Baltic region
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Allowed nobles to conquer, settle lands in east
Formed military-religious orders to assist
Launched crusades against pagan Baltic and Slavic peoples
Settled German peasants, serfs in lands
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Baltic region was absorbed into Christian Europe by late 13th century
Settled German settlers in Estonia, Latvia, Prussia
Allied with the Hansa
The Reconquest (for Christianity) of Sicily and Spain
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The conquest of Southern Italy, Sicily by Normans, 1040 – 1090
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The reconquista of Spain
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Seized lands from the Byzantines, Lombards, Muslims to create a powerful, modern state
Became ally, protector of the Popes; bitter enemies of the Byzantines
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The reconquista began in 11th century after collapse of strong Muslim state
By 1150, conquered half peninsula: leading states were Leon-Castile, Aragon, Catalonia, Portugal
By the 13th century, took almost all the peninsula except Granada
THE CRUSADES
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The Turks
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Pope Urban II
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The first crusade
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Later crusades
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Consequences of the crusades
– Arrived in Middle East in early 11th century; defeated Abbassids and
Byzantines
– Seized much of Byzantine holdings in Anatolia, Muslim Holy Land
– Byzantines asked West for help; Pope called for knights to seize Holy Land,
1095
– Peter the Hermit traveled in Europe and organized a ragtag army
– The campaign was a disaster for the crusaders
– French, Normans organized a respectable military expedition, 1096
– Jerusalem fell to the crusaders, 1099
– Muslims recaptured Jerusalem, 1187
– By the mid-13th century, launched five major crusades which all failed
– 4th crusade (1202-1204) conquered Constantinople, made Schism final
– Facilitated exchange of goods between Muslims, Europe
• Demands for silk, cotton textiles, and spices increased; spread sugar, citrus plants
• Italian merchants sought opportunities for direct trade in Asian markets
– European borrowed heavily from Muslim intellectual knowledge
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Reacquired Aristotle, lost Greek classics
Borrowed Muslim science, mathematics, technology, paper skills
Borrowed Muslim architectural techniques
Helped produce a 12th century European intellectual Renaissance
MAP OF THE CRUSADES